Cloth Chronicles: *CLOSED* Charlie Banana Review & Giveaway

Friday, September 17, 2010

CLOSED Charlie Banana Review & Giveaway

I first heard about Charlie Banana diapers when they were sponsoring diaper giveaways through Operation Smile on Facebook. Of course, I perk right up when I hear the words diaper and giveaway in the same sentence. Plus, with a name like Charlie Banana, how could these diapers be anything but adorable?

btw - Charlie Banana donates 1% of sales to Operation Smile. How awesome is that?

Turns out, my instincts were right - they do make super cute diapers. Not only do their diapers come in traditional colors like Baby Blue, Sage, Bubblegum, and others, they also come in prints for boys and girls and vibrant, bold colors like Shanghai Green, Turquoise, and Hot Pink. Charlie Banana diapers are made to fit all the way from birth through the toddler years with one size and sized diapers ranging from xsmall to large.

These diapers are actually a 2-in-1 system. Just like traditional pocket cloth diapers, you can use the reuseable microfiber insert, but you also have the choice of using disposable inserts. Just lay the disposable insert right on the fleece and tuck it under the flap. This is a wonderful choice for parents that are still a little 'iffy' about cloth diapers, or for caregivers, vacations, etc.

Besides their 2-in-1 diapers, Charlie Banana offers a wide range of other eco-friendly products including:

Wipes

Tote Bags

Laundry Bags

Change Pads

Mattress Pads

Training Pants

Underwear

Swim Diapers

Baby Leg Warmers

Reusable Feminine Pads

Reusable Nursing Pads

I was able to try out some of these products and I was not disappointed!

The Charlie Banana Tote Bag (wet bag) and wipes were the first two products I used. The wet bag is simple, but the black color and Charlie Banana logo give it a sophisticated feel. I was able to fit 4 large and medium diapers and 4 or more wipes in the bag with a little room to spare. What I love about it is that it can be used long after your little one is done with cloth diapers because it's also great for holding swimsuits, gym clothes, shoes, and more.

The Double Sided wipes are made of organic cotton on one side and fleece on the other. They get the job done, but are soft and gentle. I even stole a couple from my son's stash to use when I wash my face.

The diapers, of course, were my absolute favorite products.

The outside of the diapers are made of PUL and come in a wide range of colors, along with a few prints. The fleece liner is so soft and does a wonderful job of wicking the moisture away from little man's skin.

Both one size and sized diapers come with two microfiber inserts

and can also be used with the disposable inserts.

While I'm not normally a fan of disposable inserts, I did like these. They are large enough that they have a good coverage area and they also don't have those sticky tabs on the back that stick to everything.

The sized diapers range in sizes from xsmall to large and my little man uses both the large and medium sizes. The medium size fits him almost perfectly, but the large gives us that extra rise. What made me fall in love with the Charlie Banana diapers is that the waists of their diapers adjusts a little bit smaller than other diapers. At 10 months old, my little man was more like a chunky monkey and he was able to wear large sized diapers. Then he started crawling...and walking...and running! It didn't take long for him to morph from a chunky, long baby to a skinny, tall toddler. And then the large sized diapers didn't fit him around the waist, but our medium sized diapers didn't have a high enough rise. With the Charlie Banana diapers, I'm able to make the waist small enough on the large diapers to fit little man perfectly. Plus the triangular layout of the snaps help keep the front of the diaper from drooping.

I was amazed at the range of the one size diaper. Obviously, I only used the diaper on my son, but I think this diaper would easily work on a 7 lb baby. I did some quick measurements on the smallest and largest settings of the Charlie Banana One Size Diaper and here's what I found:

Rise - 10" to 19"

Waist - 12" to 25.5"

Thigh - 3" to 12"

Smallest Setting

Largest Setting

I gotta say, I was pretty impressed by those measurements. I also like the fact that this diaper was slightly less confusing for my husband than other one size diapers we have. Instead of adjusting the size by using snaps, Charlie Banana diapers are adjusted by using the elastic and a button. My son has had his diapers put on him in some pretty interesting ways when hubby's been faced with the task of using a one-size with a bunch of snaps in the front. Because of the way the Charlie Banana one size diaper is adjusted, it's also easier to make more subtle adjustments since it has seven different settings.

During the day, we used the diaper with the larger insert and I was very pleased by the trim fit of Charlie Banana diapers. Autumn is already in the air here, so it's great to have diapers that fit so nicely under pants.

For nighttime use, I added the extra insert just because my son can be a super soaker. He usually sleeps anywhere from 8-10 hours at night and we have not had any problems using the Charlie Banana diapers at bedtime. The fleece liner and microfiber inserts are the perfect combination to wick the moisture away from my son's skin, but still keep the diaper from leaking.

Want to buy your own Charlie Banana products?

Visit Charlie Banana for a list of retailers. You can also purchase Charlie Banana diapers at Amazon and Babies R Us for around $18 each or $99 for six.